Celtophile Monday

It's here! Rampant Scotland's annual Scottish Pictorial Calendar! Best of all, it's free! (Too many exclamation points for a Monday?) Click here to view and download

Meet the Cybraphon
Edinburgh based art and music collective FOUND have been hard at work over the past few months creating the monster that is Cybraphon. Taking inspiration from the 19th century player piano, the band have created a modern day equivalent, an autonomous music machine, built to create music without the need for any human interaction. Read more by Paul McFadyen

Scotland Outdoors
Spectacular pictures from the 2009 Etive River Race. I like to kayak, but you won't catch me launching myself over a waterfall! See more

Scotland Outdoors - Online Games
Test your skill in Rockface Rescue or Navigate Scotland. Play here

Scottish Teen is Youngest to Conquer "Unclimbable" Mountain
A 16-year-old boy from Kinross has conquered what has been described as an 'unclimbable' mountain in the Himalayas. Calum Macintyre is the youngest person to have climbed Ama Dablam, which at 22,525ft (6812m) is five times the height of Ben Nevis. The young mountaineer was raising money for the Teenager Cancer Trust. Calum's father and sister have both been treated for cancer in the past three years. Read more

All Things Dylan Thomas
Visit this site for a comprehensive overview of the life of Dylan Thomas. Includes fun stuff like a random poem generator. Click here

Blog of the Week:
Bluegrass Ireland Comprehensive and up-to-date news of bluegrass and old-time music events in Ireland

Halloween Photo Fun

I know, I know. I usually post on Halloween, but I knew last night was going to be a blast so I waited so I could share some pictures with you. Last night we went to the first honest-to-god costume party we've been to in ages. Maybe since college! It was held by (deep breath, long-winded explanation coming) our son's girlfriend's parent's neighbors, who bought and are restoring the old farmhouse the girlfriend's father's grandfather owned.

Anyway, the owners were kind enough to invite my husband and me, and I wish you could have seen how much pleasure they took in decorating. Literally no part of the house, barn or outside property was neglected. Everywhere you looked it was like stepping into a macabre version of Disney's haunted mansion. Here are just a few pictures from last night:


Starting off the evening right -- my husband scaring the snot out of little children.


I hurried to snap pictures of the fabulous food and decorations before the party-goers devoured everything. Here we have lady's fingers, bones, and globs of unidentified organ meat. (All cookies and nut clusters)



Eyeball cookies and zombie cake.


I thought the reduced fat Ritz was a nice touch. I'm not normally squeamish, but if that was cheese dip in the body cavity, I didn't try it!


Just one of the amazingly creative decorations. Note the glowing eyeballs in the photos. The skeleton at right was doling out cheese dip from his coffin.


The previous photos were taken out in the barn, where the main party was held, but the hosts' home got equal treatment in decorations. I wish I could show you everything but there isn't room for 500 photos - no part of the house was untouched. They even put Halloween dresses and masks on their doll collection! You had to duck underneath low hanging "spider webs" everywhere. This was the coffee table in their TV room.


Outdoors, each area of their several-acre property was a different scene. I didn't get a good photo of the cemetery in the front yard (complete with a zombie with fog pouring out of its mouth). This is their koi pond, which had a skeleton floating in it. (I'm sure the koi were not amused.)


A screaming banshee bride wails underneath a giant oak tree near the barn.


Me, partaking of a lady finger. Yummmm!!

Hope you had a great weekend! Me, I'm a little, er, rough this morning. But it was worth it!

Carolan
www.carolanivey.com

Celtophile Monday: Happy Celtic New Year

The Celtic New Year
For the Celts, Samhain marked the start of their new year. The hard word of summer growing and fall harvesting is over, and it's time to celebrate - and hunker down for the cold winter ahead. The Living Myth site offers a nice overview. Click here

Sea Power May Cut Scotland's Carbon Emissions
Opening up the Pentland Firth to wave, tidal and offshore wind projects would cut Scotland's carbon emissions by 30%, according to Scottish Renewables. The energy trade association said this was equivalent to taking more than 4.5 million cars off the roads. The Crown Estate said on Wednesday it plans to allow companies to produce "green" energy in the sea between mainland Scotland and Orkney. Wave and tidal devices could be generating power by 2020. Read more

FREE Audio Walks Around Historic Scotland
The Open University in collaboration with the BBC have created a series of audio walks around historic locations in Scotland, with narration from Neil Oliver and input from local experts. You can download them and take them with you on your mp3 player. A new walk will be released each week. Read more

Scotland's History
Interactive maps help you explore early chapters of Scotland's history. Click here

Win Free Stuff from The Romance Studio!

It's the great Thirteen Days of Halloween Contest! Sign up to win free books.
Click here.

Celtophile Monday, Halloween Edition

Cassandra the Village Witch


Backyard Quidditch
A great game for a Halloween party! Click here

Traditional Scottish Halloween Recipe
Cloutie Dumpling
A traditional Scottish recipe for a steamed pudding, steamed in a cloth or 'clout', which is normally served at celebrations such as Christmas, New Year, Halloween and also other special occasions. Click here for recipe.

Traditional Halloween Legends and Lore
Interesting article from mysteriousbritain and scotland.org Click here and here.

Scottish Ghost Stories
How and where Mary Shelley was inspired to write "Frankenstein"; dastardly doings at Greyfriar's Kirkyard, and more. Click here

Halloween Horrors of Edinburgh
Things that go bump in the night on the Royal Mile! Click here

Ghost Cams
Craig-y-Nos Castle, Powys, Wales

Spiritfinders Scotland
TAPS in kilts? What's not to like? Click here

If You Can't Get Jiggy With This...

...there's simply no hope for you. :) Thanks to my friend Vaerna for the link!

Celtophile Monday

Something To Make You Smile on a Monday!
Scottie, the master of RampantScotland.com, was kind enough to share some photos from his son's recent wedding on the shores of Loch Lomond. Men in kilts, lovely ladies in love. What could be more romantic? Thanks, Scottie!

Scottie writes: "In the last email to subscribers I mentioned that the Culzean feature had been delayed in part due to my son's wedding and the slide shows I created as a result of it. Of course, I have had requests to let readers see some of Martin and Nicola's wedding photos and I've created a short slide show in response. The wedding took place at Luss parish church on the banks of Loch Lomond and the reception was at Ross Priory, also at Loch Lomond. The weather was dry but misty, as can be seen in the photos. Nicola is from Wales - hence the Welsh and Scottish flags. Martin and most of the ushers wore kilts for the occasion - the one exception had a good excuse - he had flown in from Texas to be there. Included in the slide show is also a picture of "Cariad" - a Welsh love spoon made of chocolate." Click here for video!

Celtophile Monday

Some of the Lewis Chessmen which were found on a beach in the Western Isles more than 150 years ago are being reunited for a tour of Scotland. A total of 30 of the 93 pieces will go on display at locations including the island of Lewis, where they were found. They are thought to have belonged to a 12th Century merchant who visited Lewis as he journeyed from Ireland to Norway. Read more







UK Mammals Have "Celtic Fringe"
DNA tests on British populations of small mammals show a genetically distinct "Celtic Fringe", say scientists at The University of York. Voles, shrews, mice and stoats in northern and western areas have different DNA from their counterparts in other parts of the British Isles. The paper, in Proceedings B journal, says the different populations arrived at the end of the last ice age. The authors say the work sheds light on the origins of the Celtic people. Click here for complete article by Judith Burns

Scottish Families Set 50-Mile Food Target
An experiment is under way in the Scottish Borders which will see 50 people try to source all their food from within a 50 mile radius of home. The Tweedgreen initiative centres on Peebles and will last throughout the month of October. Organisers hope it will show how eating local food can help to do "the least possible damage" to the environment. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/8282846.stm

Writer Says Scots Fiction Stifled by Mediocrity
A row has broken out among Scotland's leading authors on the state of fiction north of the Border. James Kelman, the influential Glasgow writer, accused the literati of favouring populist offering such as JK Rowling's Harry Potter, and detective novels, such as Ian Rankin's Rebus, over encouraging new innovative talent. Mr Kelman, who won the Booker Prize in 1994, derided Potter as "upper middle class" at the Edinburgh Book Festival and accused Scotland's literary establishment of rewarding mediocrity. He also accused it of failing to encourage contemporary literature by being anglocentric. He said: "Praise and position is given to genre fiction in Scotland. If the Nobel Prize were given to a Scot, it would be given to a f****** crime writer, or a children's writer who writes middle-class books about a child magician." Read article by Fiona MacLeod

All Things Whisky!
The Scotsman's definitive guide to uisge beatha, Scotland's national drink. Read more

Test Your Knowledge of Scotland
How well do you know Scotland? Put it to the test with this quick quiz from the website www.scotland.org. Click here

McNappy Tartan
In a bid to get more parents to "switch from bin to pin", Real Nappy supporters came together last week to launch the McNappy Tartan diaper. Click here for story by Kirsten Johnson

Sea Eagle Numbers in Scotland Soar to 150-Year High
The number of sea eagle chicks hatched in Scotland has reached its highest level in 150 years, according to the RSPB. The charity said that 36 chicks were successfully hatched in 2009, eight more than last year. Two new breeding pairs of the sea eagle, the largest bird of prey in the British Isles, were seen during its annual survey. Click for more

Wales Photo Galleries
Digital photographs of Wales submitted by BBC Wales readers. Click here

Kilt Candy

Please join me and other Beyond the Veil blog authors on the Samhain Cafe from 7-9 tonight for a chat and book giveaways! Click here.

And now, the real reason you're here. Something to start off your weekend! These are from kiltmen.com. Most of these guys are just normal men who love their kilts, and it shows. Who can resist?? Enjoy!

Kilted paintball, anyone?


Yup, just normal guys...why don't they live on MY block??


Love the shirt (it says "men in kilts do it better")


Is that a horn in your sporran or are you just happy to see me??


A man and his dog...


With a bit of a gladiator flair...


Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiire...Jack Frost nipping at my-- uh, never mind.


Red-shirted guy: "I told you we were underdressed."
Suit: "Shut up and smile for the camera."


Semper fi!


Have a good weekend!

Celtophile Monday

What Glass Ceiling?
Founded in 1908 by three women who were denied access to male-dominated climbing clubs, the LSCC has been going strong for over 100 years. Among their accomplishments are first ascents of several rock climbs in Glencoe, and the first all-female expedition to the Himalayas in 1955. Click here. Related site: Mountaineering Council of Scotland

For My Fellow Horse Lovers
All things horse are explored in articles and video on BBC Scotland. Horses at work, play and show and the people who love them! Click here.

How's That Again?
Let Scottie of RampantScotland.com lead you through the twisting of the Gaelic tongue in this lighthearted look at how to pronounce Scottish place names. Suffice to say what you see definitely isn't what you speak. Click here.

Scotland Above and Below the Waves
Diver Helen Hadley;s photographic tour of Orkney and Shetland. Click here.

Weatherman Walking!
Derek Brockway's blog about his travels and observations of the natural world of Wales. Click here.

Ireland's National Archives
Are you a history or genealogy nut? This site is a treasure trove of historical documents, with a searchable online database. Click here.